Page 4 - Pakistanis

India, Pak renew pact on Sri Kartarpur Sahib Corridor for next 5 yrs: MEA

India and Pakistan have renewed the agreement on Sri Kartarpur Sahib Corridor for the next five years, the Ministry of External Affairs announced on Tuesday. In view of the continued requests of the pilgrims regarding the removal of USD 20 service charge levied by Pakistan per pilgrim per visit, India has once again urged Pakistan to not levy any fee or charges on the pilgrims, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement. "It has been agreed between India and Pakistan through diplomatic channels to extend the validity of the Agreement on Sri Kartarpur Sahib Corridor for a further period of five years," the MEA said. The agreement, signed on October 24, 2019 to facilitate the visit of pilgrims from India to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, Narowal in Pakistan through the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, was valid for a period of five years. "Extension of the validity of this agreement will ensure uninterrupted operation of the Corridor for use by the pilgrims from India to .

Section 144 imposed in Pakistan's Rawalpindi ahead of SCO Meeting

India will be represented by External Affairs Minister Jaishankar during the summit in Pakistan

Four security personnel killed in gunbattle with militants in Pakistan

At least four security personnel were killed in targeted attacks and gunbattle with armed militants in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Thursday, police said. In the first incident, unidentified assailants on a motorbike gunned down an official of the paramilitary Levies Force in Karak, a southern district of the province. The unidentified gunmen shot dead the Levies Force official after he left his home for duty. In another incident, three security personnel lost their lives in exchange of fire with militants in North Waziristan's Boya village. The KPK province, which borders Afghanistan, has witnessed numerous attacks on police, security personnel and anti-polio vaccination teams in recent months, along with kidnappings of civil and military officials. A bank manager was killed and two others injured as gunmen ambushed their vehicle in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Wednesday. Last week, two gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire and killed a policeman ...

Massive Islamabad protests demand reversal of decision risking 11,000 jobs

The agitation began in response to the government's announcement to close down the USC, a move that could potentially jeopardise the livelihoods of over 11,000 employees

Pakistan witnessed 59 terrorist attacks in August, 84 people killed

In continued increase in terror attacks, a total of 59 terrorist attacks occurred across Pakistan in August 2024 killing 84 people compared to 38 such attacks in the previous month, a media report said on Tuesday. The August attacks take the total number of attacks in 2024 to 325, according to the digital database of security incidents managed by the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), an Islamabad-based think-tank. These incidents include 29 attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 28 in Balochistan and two in Punjab, the PIPS data said, adding, as many as 84 people were killed and 166 others were injured, newspaper The Dawn said. Also, since 2006, there have been 17,846 terrorist incidents in which 24,373 people have been killed and 48,085 others injured, according to the PIPS database. Balochistan experienced 28 terrorist incidents during August 2024, which resulted in 57 deaths and injuries to another 84 people. Most of these terrorism-related casualties resulted from the banned ...

Pakistan inflation ceases further in Aug providing room for more rate cuts

Pakistan's central bank has slashed rates by a cumulative 250 basis points in the last two meetings and is scheduled to hold the next review on Sept 12

Airports on alert in Pak following detection of mpox cases in nation

The first mpox virus case has surfaced in Pakistan, according to the health ministry, which reported on Friday

'I am amazed by this miracle': Pak Deputy PM on ex-ISI chief's arrest

"I was also among the victims of General (r) Faiz Hameed," he added

Adani Power says committed to supplying electricity to B'desh amid protests

Adani Power's 1,600 megawatt (MW) Godda plant in Jharkhand state is the only one in India under contract to export 100% of its power to a neighbouring country

74% Pakistanis unable to meet expenses, 10% doing two jobs: Report

Survey of Pakistan with roughly 240 mn population, also highlighted that more than half of those who are just managing to cover expenses, are unable to save any money after meeting their basic needs

Who is Asif Merchant: Pak national charged with US assassination plots

Asif Merchant has been charged with murder-for-hire in connection with a foiled assassination plot targeting US politicians or government officials

Pak man with Iran ties charged in plot to assassinate gov officials in US

A 46-year-old Pakistani national with close ties to Iran was on Tuesday charged in connection with a foiled plot to assassinate a politician or US government officials on American soil, authorities here said. Asif Raza Merchant was charged in a complaint unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn with murder-for-hire as part of a scheme to assassinate a politician or US government officials on its soil. Law enforcement foiled the charged plot before any attack could be carried out. Merchant, who has stated that he has a wife and children in Iran and a wife and children in Pakistan, is in federal custody in New York. US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that for years, the Justice Department has been working aggressively to counter Iran's brazen and unrelenting efforts to retaliate against American public officials for the killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. US Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York said that working on behalf of others ...

Why Pakistan has suspended the passports of 2,000 beggars for 7 years

The Pakistan govt said that begging abroad not only damages Pakistan's reputation but also diminishes the honour of its citizens

Ex-Pakistan PM Abbasi launches new political party 'to change system'

Pakistan's former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Saturday formally launched a new political party with the mission to change the system and restore respect for the Constitution of the country. The main slogan of the Awaam Pakistan Party is: Badlien gaen nizam' (we will change the system) and its membership is open to anyone and everyone who can contribute for the development of the country. Abbasi, 65, served as a prime minister from August 2017 to May 2018 when the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif was disqualified by the Supreme Court. Abbasi, who belongs to the Murree area of Rawalpindi, which is a famous hill resort, distanced himself from the PML-N due to policy disagreements after 2018 and refused to be part of the government in 2022. He is a businessman, whose family owned the country's AirBlue airline. He entered politics in 1988 when elected as a member of the National Assembly for the first time. He was elected at least six times from the ...

'People want Imran Khan to be kept in jail for 5 yrs for progress of Pak'

Federal Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal expressed concern that the 71-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) release could lead to renewed protests and unrest

Pakistan says United Arab Emirates to invest $10 billion in country

The Pakistani government said Thursday that the United Arab Emirates committed to investing up to $10 billion in Pakistan during a meeting in the UAE capital between that country's president and the Pakistani prime minister. The office of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement that UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan made the commitment during a meeting in Abu Dhabi with Sharif, who is visiting the UAE. It provided few details. The statement said Sharif told the UAE president about measures the Pakistani government is taking to encourage foreign investment, and that the UAE president committed to investing $10 billion in various sectors in Pakistan. Sharif also invited the UAE president to visit Pakistan, an offer which he accepted, the statement said.

Are those mimes spying on us? In Pakistan, it's not a strange question

Today, the "golden men" of Islamabad have been added to the ranks of the conspiracy theories sprouted, knocked down and rehashed every day across the city

Lightning, rains kill 49 in Pak, state of emergency declared in southwest

Lightning and heavy rains have killed at least 49 people across Pakistan in the past three days, officials said Monday, as authorities in the country's southwest declared a state of emergency. Some deaths occurred when lightning struck farmers harvesting wheat. Rains caused dozens of houses to collapse in the northwest and in eastern Punjab province. Arfan Kathia, a spokesman for the provincial disaster management authority, said 21 people had died in Punjab, where more rains were expected this week. Khursheed Anwar, a spokesman for the disaster management authority in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, said 21 people died there. Rain also lashed the capital, Islamabad, and killed seven people in southwestern Baluchistan province. Streets flooded in the northwestern city of Peshawar and in Quetta, the Baluchistan capital. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in televised remarks that he had ordered authorities to provide relief aid. Pakistan's water ...

Pakistan set to repay $1 bn against Eurobond to reduce stock of debt

Pakistan is set to repay a foreign debt worth USD 1 billion against a 10-year Eurobond maturing in the middle of this month which will reduce the stock of the debt acquired through the selling of bonds in international markets to below USD 7 billion. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) told The Express Tribune that it was ready to repay the bond anytime and was waiting to receive instructions to do so from the finance ministry. The move will reduce the stock of the debt acquired through selling Eurobonds and Sukuks (bond-like instruments used in Islamic finance) in international markets to below USD 7 billion. This has enhanced the country's capacity to repay all the upcoming maturing foreign debt on time. Following the repayment of USD 1 billion in April, Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves will experience a decline. However, the anticipated International Monetary Fund (IMF) tranche of USD 1.1 billion, likely to be received by the end of April, is expected to restore the reserves ba

No evidence of Bushra Bibi being poisoned, says personal physician

Imran Khan's wife Bushra Bibi has not been given any poisonous substance, her personal physician has said following a medical checkup after allegations by the ex-prime minister that the former first lady was poisoned while incarcerated at his private residence which was turned into a sub-jail. On April 2, Khan during the hearing of the 190 million pound Toshakhana corruption case in Adiala jail informed Judge Nasir Javed Rana that there had been an attempt to poison the former first lady and added that she had marks on her skin and tongue as a side effect of the "poisoning". "I know who is behind it," the 71-year-old former prime minister said, without naming anyone. He said that if any harm came to 49-year-old Bushra, the Pakistan Army chief (Gen Asim Munir) should be held responsible as members of an intelligence agency were controlling everything at his Bani Gala residence in Islamabad and Adiala jail in Rawalpindi. At this time, there is no evidence of Bushra Bibi being poisone